JP Morgan Pilots Blockchain-Based Transactions With 6 Banks in India

Offer instant settlement in USD

US financial giant JP Morgan has launched a pilot of a blockchain-based US dollar-denominated bank account in India. Bloomberg reported Friday, citing Kaustubh Kulkarni, regional head of JP Morgan.

The pilot will run over the next few months with six participating banks: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank and JP Morgan’s banking arm in India.

JPMorgan’s blockchain-based trading platform Onyx will enable participating banks to conduct instant 24/7 interbank dollar transactions.

In India, dollar-denominated transactions, such as rupee-dollar transactions, could generally only be done during US bank business hours. JP Morgan clients with Onyx bank accounts will be able to do this at any time.

Note that the solution will only work between banks that have JPMorgan interbank accounts. Payments are made from one bank’s account with JP Morgan to the counterparty’s account with JP Morgan.

JP Morgan’s Onyx network also includes DBS Bank, the largest commercial bank in Southeast Asia and Singapore, and BNP Paribas, a major French bank.

connection: Southeast Asia’s largest bank DBS joins JP Morgan’s Onyx network

International financial center “GIFT City”

The trial will be conducted at GIFT City, an international financial center in Gujarat, India.

In March, JP Morgan’s branch in GIFT City was granted permission to provide international payments to other banks in GIFT City.

GIFT City is operated with the aim of becoming an international financial center on a par with Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Advance into blockchain and cryptocurrencies

JP Morgan has also launched a blockchain company “Partior” in collaboration with Singapore’s largest bank “DBS Bank” and the country’s sovereign wealth fund “Temasek”.

Partior is a blockchain network for cross-border payments between banks, with plans to support various currencies.

JP Morgan has also started working in the crypto asset (virtual currency) field. Last November, it conducted its first DeFi (decentralized finance) transaction using a modified version of the leading DeFi lending protocol Aave, deployed on the Polygon (MATIC) mainnet.

In addition, we have obtained a virtual currency-related trademark registration from the US Patent and Trademark Office. Permission was granted for the trademark “JP Morgan Wallet” for virtual currency payment services using digital wallets.

connection: JP Morgan Acquires Cryptocurrency Wallet Trademark

What is DeFi (decentralized finance)?

Refers to financial services or systems that utilize blockchain and are performed in the absence of a central administrator. Abbreviation for “Decentralized Finance.” DeFi financial services include stablecoin issuance, currency lending, and cryptocurrency exchanges. Many platforms use the Ethereum blockchain.

Cryptocurrency Glossary